Umhlanga Rocks travel guide

Umhlanga Rocks Tourism Chartwell Drive, T031-561 4257, http://www.umhlanga-rocks.com, Mon-Fri 0800-1630, Sat 0900-1200, arranges accommodation and provides advice on visiting the nature reserves. It also has maps and brochures.

The upmarket holiday resort of Umhlanga Rocks is a short drive north of Durban – these days it is virtually a suburb of the city, although its sprawl of concrete highrises makes it feel more like a Spanish costa. The main attraction here away from the beach is Gateway, South Africa’s premier shopping mall, allegedly the largest in the southern hemisphere .

Umhlanga Rocks beach is a beautiful stretch of wave-lashed sand, although day visitors have little chance of seeing it, thanks to the belt of highrises stretching along its length. Access to the water is almost exclusively through resort complexes and hotels, and there’s no beachfront area. Nevertheless, South Africans flock to the hotels and condominiums, and the area has a buzzing atmosphere in high season. Umhlanga Lagoon lies just to the north of town, where there are beautiful expanses of wetland, forest and an unspoilt, open beach yet to be concreted by the developers.

The town’s name means ‘Place of Reeds’ in Zulu, after the reeds that are washed down the river to the north and onto the pristine beaches. The area was once covered with dune forest; today, only small pockets of original vegetation have been preserved in surrounding nature reserves. In the 19th century, the land was part of a large sugar estate, Natal Estates Ltd, owned by Sir Marshall Campbell. The estate was managed from Mount Edgecombe in the interior; a track was built from here to the coast and local farmers began to lease small plots on the beach and build holiday cottages. The first cottage was built in 1869 and was known as the Oyster Box, today the Oyster Box Hotel, which is presently being refurbished.

A popular local landmark is the Umhlanga Lighthouse. The distinct red and white circular concrete tower stands 21 m above the beach and acts as a fixed point to help ships waiting to dock in Durban harbour confirm their exact position in the outer anchorage. The lighthouse tower has stood here since November 1954, occupying the centre point on the beach, right in front of the Oyster Box Hotel. The lighthouse has never had a keeper; instead it was operated by the owner of the Oyster Box Hotel from controls in the hotel office, though now its fully automated.

The KZN Sharks Board Herrwood Drive, T031-566 0400, http://www.shark.co.za, display hall and curio shop Mon-Fri 0800-1600, tour and video Tue-Thu 0900 and 1400, Sun 1400, R25, children (4-12) R12, set inland from the resort, studies the life cycles of the sharks that inhabit the sea off the coast of KwaZulu Natal and investigates how best to protect bathers with various forms of netting. Umhlanga Rocks became the first beach to erect shark nets in 1962, following a series of attacks along the whole coast in December 1957. Today the Sharks Board is responsible for looking after more than 400 nets, which protect nearly 50 beaches. Tours at the Sharks Board begin with a 25-minute multimedia video show on the biology of sharks and their role as top predators in the marine food chain. This is followed by a stomach-churning shark dissection. The display hall has a variety of replicas of sharks, fish and rays, including that of an 892-kg shark. It is also possible to accompany researchers on the Sharks Board boat T082-403 9206 (booking essential), R250 per person, no children under 6, min 6 people, max 12 people, 2 hrs, as they conduct daily servicing of the shark nets off Durban’s Golden Mile. The boat goes from Wilson’s Wharf back in Durban at 0630. You won’t necessarily see sharks in the nets, but you have a good chance of spotting dolphins and sea birds and there are good views back across to Durban. The ride out beyond the harbour walls can be bumpy.

Hawaan Nature Reserve is 4 km north of Umhlanga Rocks at the end of Newlands Drive. During the 1920s, William Alfred Campbell, son of Sir Marshall who had founded the sugar estates, used to stage a hunt every year in this unique forest environment. It was not until 1980 that 60 ha were protected as part of the nature reserve. Within the reserve there are 4 km of leisurely guided walks through an unusual area of mature coastal forest. The trails are not open to the public but you can join the 0800 Saturday morning guided walk T031-566 4018. The area is rich in birdlife and you can also see bushbuck, duiker and vervet monkeys....read more